In writing terms, 2014 has been a bit rubbish so far. I finished a novella in February, which is now out on submission, but struggled to start anything else. After pouring everything into my story of a young mother who finds herself sleeping rough, my muse was exhausted and my head was drained.

Slowly - very slowly - I've been working my way through some old short stories, polishing them up and submitting them to short story competitions. It's been a long time since I've had a comprehensive attack on competitions - the more you enter, the more chance you have of winning - and I'd forgotten how much I enjoy the rush of sending my stories into the world.

Granted, when I first started writing, I was posting the stories - even kissing the envelopes for good luck! You can't do that with emails - it just feels silly to kiss your screen.

New puppy, Artoo, 11 weeks old

On the plus side, we got a new puppy - which Hubby named Artoo (nothing to do with me). He's so gorgeous, but spends a good part of his day trying to bite me. I must admit, I didn't realise just how much work a puppy was! We're under house-arrest at the moment, for another week, until his vaccinations get done... Hopefully life will be a lot easier once we get this bundle of energy out into a field!

And finally...

... I broke my big toe.

Oh, okay, the truth? I cracked a small bone, and chipped another, in my big toe. It was a freak accident, and I'm really not sure how I managed to hurt the foot I did, or end up sitting on the floor with my legs folded up beneath me. I'm just grateful it wasn't caught on CCTV.

ButI'm on crutches, and it's very swollen and very sore - and the dog keeps trying to bite it! So, I deserve sympathy, don't I?